Bill Simmons Blasts SportsCenter on Twitter

ESPN has already suspended Bill Simmons from Twitter once this year for his rebellious posts, but the sports media giant’s biggest star had some more harsh criticism Thursday night.

Simmons began as an independent sports blogger in the late ’90s, before getting hired by ESPN. He’s since written books, launched his own ESPN spinoff site, helped create a documentary series and become likely the network’s most recognizable name to many fans. His current ubiquity with the company now includes co-hosting its on-air NBA studio show, which is where the trouble started last night.

During the post-game show after a turn-back-the-clock performance by Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade in Thursday night’s game four of the NBA Finals, Simmons joked on air that Wade must have recently “visited Germany.” That’s a humorous euphemism these days for receiving secretive – and, the implication goes, possibly illegal – medical treatment overseas.

When the studio clip re-aired later that night on SportsCenter, Simmons’ Germany joke had apparently been edited out. And, boy, did that rub him the wrong way, according to this message he posted to this 2 million Twitter followers:

Wow, SportsCenter edited my joke out about Wade going to Germany before Game 4 – I should have just ripped people to shreds like SAS did.

“SAS” refers to another ESPN analyst, Stephen A. Smith, who’s known for his tough on-air takedowns of players. But Simmons wasn’t done. He started his on-air analyst gig for the company last year, and it seems the experience hasn’t been all peaches and cream:

The rigidity of studio TV is really discouraging. Let’s just say that A LOT makes sense after these past 8 months.

What’s interesting here is that it’s far from the first time Simmons has burned his employer on Twitter. In March, his criticism of a much-reviled ESPN debate show earned him a double-secret Twitter suspension from the company.

Simmons is seen by many media-watchers as untouchable within ESPN, and he’s surely aware of his lofty status and high importance there. ESPN also attracted some criticism for its earlier suspension of him, so doing so again could come off as petty and hyper-controlling.

Simmons, for what it’s worth, has posted three times Friday morning. So chances are he just got an annoyed email from ESPN brass this time around.

Should employees be disciplined for criticizing their employers online? Give us your take in the comments.